Fourteen-year-old Usagi Tsukino is an unathletic, emotional middle school student whose ordinary life transforms when she rescues Luna, an articulate talking black cat with a crescent moon mark on her forehead. Luna bestows a magical transformation brooch upon Usagi, revealing her true divine identity as Sailor Moon, a guardian of love and justice. Tasked with finding the mythical Legendary Silver Crystal and locating the reincarnated Moon Princess, Usagi gathers fellow Sailor Guardians Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. Together with the enigmatic masked ally Tuxedo Mask, they wage perilous cosmic battles against the villainous Dark Kingdom.
Background (may contain spoilers)
Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Munehisa Sakai, *Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal* was conceived to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi's iconic magical girl franchise. Debuting in July 2014 as a global net animation streaming on Niconico in multiple languages, the 26-episode series adapted the Dark Kingdom and Black Moon arcs with direct fidelity to Takeuchi's original manga artwork and darker tone. Featuring modern digital compositing and character designs by Yukie Sako, the series delivered a contemporary reboot that honored the author's original vision for an international generation of anime fans.
